Jeff Martin Once Second Guessed Himself And It’s History

“If you’re ever skeptical about putting a song out to the public, just remember that you can never be successful second guessing yourself.”

Check out the interview with Jeff Martin exclusively on Skilly Magazine Online.

Skilly: Where did this all start? Tell us about your journey in the entertainment business.Jeff Martin: My music career began when I was just a young child teaching myself piano around the age of 7 and starting to sing when I was about 12. I picked up rapping when I was about 15 and fell in love with the genre all together.

I started off making videos on a mobile app/website called Keek. My videos became a hit on the site and racked up tens of thousands of fans. That was when I knew music was my calling. I began to post videos on YouTube and those also became fairly popular. The internet has been a huge contributor to my success and all of my fans have supported me to continue my career as a musician.

I released my first mixtape in 2014 and it was a major success in my opinion. All of my listeners loved it and I received a lot of love. An old friend of mine heard some of my music and wanted to produce some of my next songs. I couldn’t believe the instrumental tracks he was making. They were just flawless.

What would be your biggest piece of advice for the young kids out there trying to do what you do?
If you’re ever skeptical about putting a song out to the public, just remember that you can never be successful second guessing yourself. When I first started making videos on my social media channels, I began to second guess myself and felt they weren’t good enough or I was going to be made fun of because other people may think they were bad.

I told myself that I would go through with it and post the videos anyways because it is what I loved to do. Now I’m getting interviews in magazines and thousands of people following me on social media.

What are some of the hardest challenges and tasks in your position?
Finalizing a song is always one of the hardest things to do. My producer O-Brad and I are perfectionists when it comes to our music, everything has to be just right. Also, we are both still in school so finding free time to make music and continue our education is a difficult factor as well.

We all know the entertainment business is very tough, but what do you find is the best way to promote and advertise your music?
Making your presence known in the music business is incredibly difficult, but I believe regularly posting songs for your fans and keeping them updated on social media is one of the best promoting you can do. Good music doesn’t need a lot of promoting. No matter how much promoting you do for a poorly produced, poorly edited song, it does not change the fact that it is a poorly produced and poorly edited song. If your music is good, people will listen. Simple as that.

Tell us about your city. How are the artists and the fans?
O-Brad and I are from the south suburbs of Chicago and honestly the fans here are great. Most of our classmates are extremely supportive of our music and they give us the motivation to keep continuing our careers. Personally I love a lot of the Chicago artists, but it’s half and half. Some make great music while some don’t. It is just my personal opinion though.

Where do you see yourself a year from today?
It’s very hard to predict the future because literally anything could happen at any time. In a year I see myself and O-Brad working on our first official debut album. We both have deep passions for music and I definitely see us continuing our love for music in the future.

Who and what were your biggest inspirations? Who do you look up to in today’s world?
My biggest everyday inspiration is my mother. She never fails to put a smile on my face and is always thinking about other people and never being selfish. Musical wise Jon Bellion is definitely my largest inspiration. His music tells such deep and real stories and he is, in my opinion, a musical genius and one of the greatest producers, songwriters, and singers of all time. He never fails to amaze me with his musical talent. It is definitely one of my life goals to feature in one of his songs or him to be featured in ours.

How do you feel about the music coming out today? Do you like it?
I feel like a lot of the rap songs coming out today focus more on the lifestyle and the money aspect of things and not focus on the music. I love songs with meaningful lyrics that tell a story or relay a message, not just somebody telling you how hard they are or how much money they can spend in one sitting. I have been obsessed with EDM and trap music lately. The artists and DJs are so original and are making music in an entirely new way that is so inspiring to new and current artists or all genres.